On this day in 1934 – The "Battle of Highbury": England defeated world champions Italy 3–2 in a notoriously ill-tempered friendly at Arsenal's Highbury stadium. England's starting line-up featured a record seven Arsenal players (Bastin, Bowden, Copping, Drake, Hapgood, Male, and Moss)—a record for the most players from a single club in an England starting XI that still stands. The match resulted in multiple severe injuries, including a broken foot, a broken arm, and a broken nose., BUT to whom!!
1973 – Bobby Moore’s Farewell: England lost 1–0 to Italy in a friendly at Wembley Stadium in the 108th and final international appearance for legendary England captain Bobby Moore, in a match where future Italy manager Fabio Capello scored the winner!!
1990 – Ireland vs. England: The sides drew 1–1 in a tense international fixture in Dublin, which was marred by post-match clashes on O'Connell Street.
2001 – Latvia’s 200th Match: Latvia played their 200th official international match in Rīga against Russia.
2012 – Steven Gerrard’s Century & Zlatan’s Four Goals: Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard earned his 100th cap for England during a 4–2 friendly defeat against Sweden at the newly inaugurated Friends Arena in Stockholm, where Sweden's Zlatan Ibrahimović scored all four goals (including an iconic overhead bicycle kick from 30 yards out REALLY!!!).
2012 – Turkey’s 500th Match: The Turkey national team played the 500th match in their history in Istanbul against Denmark.
2019 – England’s 1000th Match: England faced Montenegro at Wembley Stadium in what marked the 1000th international match in the history of the England national team. Score: Montenegro 1–5 England (March 25, 2019) Goalscorers: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (opened the scoring), Harry Kane (scored a first-half hat-trick) Marcus Rashford, Tammy Abraham (scored his first international goal), Dušan Šofranac (Montenegro own goal!!)
2024 – Slovenia’s 300th Match: Slovenia played their 300th official international match in Ljubljana against Norway.
On November 12th 1881: St. Mark’s (West Gorton) lost 3–0 at home to Newton Heath in a friendly match, marking the very first Manchester Derby (the early roots of the Manchester Derby.
Nowadays local derbies between Manchester City and Manchester United are fixtures which receive national attention but that wasn’t the case when the clubs played each other for the first time back in 1881. Back then they were just two ‘ordinary’ Manchester clubs and in that first meeting – a friendly played on Saturday November 12th 1881 – St Mark’s (West Gorton) lost 0-3 at home to Newton Heath. In modern language that would be Manchester City 0 Manchester United 3, a match which a local paper, The Ashton Reporter, described as being ‘a pleasant game’. The two clubs progressed and both joined the Football League in 1892/93 although Newton Heath – they didn’t become Man U until 1902 - joined the First Division and Manchester City (St Mark’s had become Ardwick and then Man City) started out in Division 2. It wasn’t until Newton Heath were relegated to Division 2 after two seasons that the clubs met for the first time in the Football League. That match was played on Saturday November 3rd 1894 with another sound victory for Manchester-United-to-be – Manchester City 2 Newton Heath 5.
On this date, 1921: Billy Walkerbecame the first player to score a hat-trick of penalties in an English League match during Aston Villa's 7–1 win over Bradford City.
Today, I happen to have an interest in Lord Howe Island.Been there done it!
Lord Howe Island is an irregularly crescent-shaped volcanic remnant in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, part of the Australian state of New South Wales. It lies 600 km directly east of mainland Port Macquarie, 780 km northeast of Sydney, and about 900 km southwest of Norfolk Island. It is about 10 km long and between 0.3 and 2.0 km wide with an area of 14.55 km2, though just 3.98 km2 of that comprise the low-lying developed part of the island.The island is named after The First Lord Richard Howe.
The unofficial flag of Lord Howe Island, the design of which harks to the pre-1801 Union Jack.
Along the west coast is a sandy semi-enclosed sheltered coral reeflagoon. The island is home to less than 500 people, most of whom live in the north, while the south is dominated by forested hills rising to the highest point on the island, Mount Gower (875m, 2,871ft). The Lord Howe Island Group comprises 28 islands, islets, and rocks. Apart from Lord Howe Island itself, the most notable of these is the volcanic and uninhabited Ball's Pyramid about 23km (14mi; 12nmi) to the southeast of Howe. To the north lies the Admiralty Group, a cluster of seven uninhabited islets (small islands).
The first reported sighting of Lord Howe Island took place on 17 February 1788, when Lieutenant Henry Lidgbird Ball(yes seriously!) commander of the Armed Tender HMS Supply, was en route from Botany Bay to found a penal settlement on Norfolk Island.On the return journey, Ball sent a party ashore on Lord Howe Island to claim it as a British possession. It subsequently became a provisioning port for the whaling industry, and was permanently settled in June 1834. When whaling declined, the 1880s saw the beginning of the worldwide export of the endemic kentia palms,which remains a key component of the island's economy. The other continuing industry, tourism, began after WW2 ended in 1945.
The Lord Howe Island Group is part of the state of New South Wales and is regarded legally as an unincorporated area administered by the Lord Howe Island Board, which reports to the New South Wales Dept of Heritage. The island's standard UTC + 10.30, or UTC + 11 when daylight saving applies. The currency is the Australian Dollar. Commuter airlines provide flights to Sydney, Gold Coast, Newcastle, and Port Macquarie.
UNESCO records the Lord Howe Island Group as a World Heritage Site of global natural significance. Most of the island is virtually untouched forest, with many of the plants and animals found nowhere else in the world. Other natural attractions include the diversity of the landscapes, the variety of upper mantle and oceanic basalt, the world's southernmost barrier coral reef, nesting seabirds, and the rich historical and cultural heritage. The Lord Howe Island Act 1981 established a "Permanent Park Preserve" (covering about 70% of the island). The island was added to the Australian National Heritage List on 21 May 2007 and the NSW State Register on 2 April 1999. The surrounding waters are a protected region designated the Lord Howe Island Marine Park.
Bioregion: Lord Howe Island is part of the IBRA region Pacific Subtropical Islands and is subregion PSI01 with an area of 1,909ha (4,720 acres). In the WWF Ecoregion system, Lord Howe Island constitutes the entirety of the 'Lord Howe Island subtropical forests' ecoregion (WWF ID#AA0109). This ecoregion is in the Australasion Realm, and the tropical and sub-tropical moist broadleaf forest biome. The WWF eco-region has an area of 14km2 (5½ sq. mi).
It is populated by around 445 residents. —meaning regular team-sport leagues like official football (soccer) or rugby league competitions are not feasible. Where is it? If you drew a straight line between Brisbane (yes, Australia) and the northern peninsular of New Zealand and visited the island around a fifth of the journey from Brisbane, you would be there!
How Football and Team Sports Work on the Island. No Formal Leagues: There are no scheduled soccer, rugby union, or rugby league, leagues based on the island.
Informal & Youth Play: Informal games and youth activities do take place. For instance, casual touch rugby games happen periodically, and periodic youth programs like the Soccer Camp have been coordinated with outside help (such as the Pagewood-Botany Football Club) using the local "Oval".
School & Community Support: Organizations like the NRL and various grassroots clubs occasionally send gear or support to local students at the Lord Howe Island Central School.
Watching Games: Locals and visitors often gather at community hubs like the Lord Howe Island Bowling Club to watch live-screened football and cricket matches.
Notable Connections: The island has ties to rugby history; former Wallaby player Adrian "Moose" Skeggs grew up on Lord Howe Island and maintains deep connections to the community.
